TITLE 4. CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES
MARINE RESOURCES COMMISSION
Agency Decision
Title of Regulation: 4VAC20-1270. Pertaining to Atlantic Menhaden.
Statutory Authority: § 28.2-201 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Chesapeake Legal Alliance and Southern Maryland Recreational Fishing Organization.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: The petitioners request that the Marine Resources Commission (i) impose an immediate moratorium on reduction fishing for menhaden within the Chesapeake Bay or reduce all purse seine fishing within the Chesapeake Bay to 10% of the current total allowable landings, thereby preserving the bait-fishery, to remain in place until completion and peer review of the ongoing Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission single-species and ecological reference point benchmark stock assessments; (ii) limit purse seine fishing in state waters to no more than 25% of Virginia's current total allowable landings (approximately 39,000 metric tons of the 156,600 metric tons allotted to the reduction fishery), with the remaining harvest to be taken outside of Virginia waters (i.e., federal waters). This limit should remain in force until appropriate estimates of menhaden seasonal stocks within the Chesapeake Bay and a clear understanding of the effects of their removals are available; (iii) create a permanent one-nautical-mile purse seine exclusion zone along Virginia's entire shoreline to minimize localized depletion, user conflicts, habitat damage, and bycatch; (iv) formally request funds from the General Assembly to expand the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Research Planning proposal to study the impacts of reduction fishing on the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem, with at least 50% of costs to be covered by the industry; and (v) require comprehensive monitoring and public reporting of the reduction fishery, including electronic reporting and vessel monitoring.
Agency Decision: Request denied.
Statement of Reason for Decision: The Virginia Marine Resources Commission published notice of the petition in the Virginia Register of Regulations on January 13, 2025 (Volume 41, Issue 11), following submission on December 20, 2024.
A public comment period was held from January 13, 2025, to February 3, 2025. During that time, the commission received a total of 1,347 comments: 1,325 through Virginia Regulatory Town Hall, 10 via direct email to the commission, and 12 through the commission's website. Of the total comments received, 559 supported the petition and 788 opposed it.
The commission reviewed the petition at its April 22, 2025, meeting. Twenty-six individuals provided public comment during the meeting. After extensive discussion, including several motions and substitute motions related to items (i), (ii), and (iii) of the requests, the commission ultimately voted six to two to deny the petition in its entirety.
In its decision, the commission found that item (iv) does not pertain to regulatory rulemaking, and that the agency cannot formally request funding or designate sources of funding from the General Assembly. Item (v) was found to be prohibited under § 28.2-204 of the Code of Virginia, 50 USC § 229.11, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 USC § 1881a(b)), all of which protect confidential fisheries data and prohibit agencies from releasing catch or value information that could disclose individual businesses or identities without a court order. This is commonly referred to as the "Rule of Three." Although the board had the option to consider limited additional monitoring under item (v), the board chose not to pursue that option.
Based on public comment, staff analysis, and the lack of presentable new data compared to the data already used for management purposes, the commission denied the petition for rulemaking.
Agency Contact: Zachary Widgeon, Director of Communications, Marine Resources Commission, 380 Fenwick Road, Building 96, Fort Monroe, VA, 23651, telephone (757) 414-0713, or email zachary.widgeon@mrc.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR25-42; Filed December 20, 2024, 2:52 p.m.
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TITLE 18. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING
BOARD OF SOCIAL WORK
Initial Agency Notice
Title of Regulation: 18VAC140-20. Regulations Governing the Practice of Social Work.
Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.
Name of Petitioner: Natalie Both.
Nature of Petitioner's Request: The petitioner requests that the Board of Social Work amend regulations to allow students to apply for pre-supervisory licensure up to 30 days prior to the official conferral of a required degree.
Agency Plan for Disposition of Request: The petition for rulemaking will be published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on May 19, 2025. The petition will also be published on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall at www.townhall.virginia.gov to receive public comment, which opens May 19, 2025, and closes June 18, 2025. The board will consider the petition and all comments in support or opposition at the next meeting after the close of public comment. That meeting is currently scheduled for September 26, 2025. The petitioner will be notified of the board's decision after that meeting.
Public Comment Deadline: June 18, 2025.
Agency Contact: Jaime Hoyle, Executive Director, Board of Social Work, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Henrico, VA, 23233, telephone (804) 367-4441, or email jaime.hoyle@dhp.virginia.gov.
VA.R. Doc. No. PFR25-41; Filed April 17, 2025, 4:24 p.m.